Antidote Crisis
by Random
Summary: Bray is out making a deal with the Locos on the antidote, while the Demon Dogs storm the mall. Was this all a set up? Wait till Lex finds out...((R/R))
1. Alarm System Error

Antidote Crisis  
  
  
  
Author's Note: This is chapter one of a Tribe Story. ((Duh)) I don't own The Tribe, or it's characters, but I would like to own Bray.*smirks* Anyway, I do own Jaena ((cause I came up with her)) and my friend MG owns Gia ((cause she came up with her)). Therefore please don't use our characters unless you ask us really nicely. ((You can ask me, I don't mind.))  
  
Another Author's Note: This is like.take Tribe season 1 but take away Amber and Tai-San. Yeah, so that's kinda what's going on. All right! Happy reading!  
  
  
  
A shrill alarm echoed through the mall, loud enough to jolt the few occupants who resided there. Although the rest of Sector Nine remained quite calm on the summer day, the Mallrats seemed to be dealing with stresses all their own. The Demon Dogs were still out for their blood and with the virus rapidly flowing through the city, and the Mallrats the ones with the antidote, all of their lives were at risk until a solution could be made. The Mallrats, who seemingly never ran out of troubles to deal with, were now in bargaining sessions with the rest of the city over the antidote. They even had the Locos at the reins for once; their queen, Ebony, following every order taken from a Mallrat. Finally, it seemed like the 'Rats had all the power and were finally bringing Ebony's 'Chaos' bit to a halt.  
  
Unfortunately, everyone's bright attitudes had changed dramatically while Jack and Dal were busy fixing the alarm system in the mall. The siren had sounded various times during the day bringing activities in the mall to a sudden halt. And now, everyone's was patience was being tested as the siren's blaring sound echoed through the mall for another false alarm.  
  
"What is THAT?" Jaena winched grabbing her ears and looking around, "Damnit, that stupid alarm!"  
  
Gia set down the bread she was making sandwiches with and looked over at Jaena nodding slowly, "So do you think it's another false alarm?" she said in a worried tone.  
  
Jaena rolled her eyes and headed down the hallway to check out what the situation was, "Might as well go check," she muttered and pulled her shoulder length teal and brown hair back into a ponytail as she paced quickly down the hall.  
  
She strode down the hall quickly, her black leather jacket falling off her shoulders a little as she adjusted her green crop top and fixed her belly chain that was caught on her naval ring. Gia quickly walked after Jaena, her pink highlighted hair getting in her face a little and she had to push it back.  
  
"This is just the perfect time for this to be happening," Gia sighed following after, "It's bad enough Lex is out on provisions, but now with Bray gone too."  
  
Jaena stopped in her tracks and glared back at the girl following her. Jae noticed Gia's midnight blue eyes cloud over a bit as her skin fell a shade paler. Jaena just studied Gia for a moment and shook her head confused.  
  
"Relax, Lex is just out on a provisions run. He'll be fine.he's done it before." Gia informed quickly, but Jaena wasn't interested in that.  
  
"Where's Bray?" She asked quickly.  
  
"He left awhile ago. Didn't he tell you he was leaving? Ebony summoned him, something about the antidote. He had to leave for a bit." Gia whispered a little unsure of how Jaena would take it, "He really didn't tell you did he?"  
  
Jaena looked hurt as her face softened a bit, "He probably just forgot, like he's been doing about our tribe lately. Even Lex is doing a better job right now."  
  
She was about to say more but the continuous buzzing alarm bade her to find out what the problem was. She continued marching off in the direction of the sewers keeping a straight face and not bothering to show emotion to Gia. Jaena was just plain frustrated now. She had worked with Bray the entire time on the antidote crisis and had helped him organize how it would be distributed throughout the city. They were in on this together and now he just left her so he could spend some more time with the Loco Queen. Jaena wasn't exactly sure what Bray ever saw in that girl, even before she was wearing the flame on her forehead. She hoped it wasn't lasting though, since her and Bray now had an official 'thing' going on. Jaena had been warned extensively about this Loco Queen, Ebony. And from what she understood from her conversations with Lex, Ebony really was loco.  
  
"JACK!" Jaena yelled as she stormed down the hallway and halfway down the stairs with Gia on her heels.  
  
Both looked extensively worried and Jaena made a mental note not to yell out next time, just in case an intruder was present. Gia held her breath as she waited for something to appear from the sewers but wasn't surprised when Jack appeared from the sewers holding some wires and half smiling.  
  
"No intruders?" Gia sighed with fake remorse.  
  
Jack bit his lip a little and shook his head as Dal's head soon appeared after Jack climbed out of the dark pit that was used as their entrance into the mall. Dal's face was covered in dirt and he quickly wiped his face with his sleeve.  
  
He smiled a little at the girl's faces, "Scared?"  
  
"Dal! Jack!" Jaena frowned, "This is the fifth time today! I'm starting to get a little worried you're doing this on purpose."  
  
Jack smirked, "Sorry Jaena, see I.well Dal and I.and it." he held up some wires, and sighed, "We're trying to make it safer. More reliable."  
  
"More reliable?" Gia rolled her eyes, "You're trying.well you're not succeeding in doing anything but scaring the hell out of us.for the fifth time today."  
  
"Well.see..we're working on it and it's." Dal started trying to think of monosyllabic words to explain what they were doing in the sewers. Unfortunately he couldn't think of non-scientific words to describe their process.  
  
"Well it's not working Dal. And it's not very reliable if it keeps going off every ten minutes." Jaena shook her head and watched them for another few moments.  
  
"Sorry girls, but don't worry about it ok? We'll have this thing fixed in no time!" Jack piped up and smiled, "Just give us the rest of the afternoon."  
  
Gia gave Jaena a look and sighed, "Come on let's finish lunch."  
  
Jaena nodded and pulled her leather jacket back around her, folding her arms and staring at the boys, "Just be careful." Jaena said slowly.  
  
Dal smirked, "No problem! Good thing Bray's entertaining the Locos.or we'd be an all you can eat buffet for them today."  
  
Jaena raised an eyebrow at Dal and sighed walking off back to the café muttering 'thanks Dal.' Gia watched Jae walk off for a moment and shook her head, thinking that it would have been a much smarter idea to have just stayed in bed this morning. Dal frowned a little and sighed, heading back into the sewers, calling Jack to follow.  
  
"Let's fix this." Dal was heard, voice echoing in the sewers.  
  
Gia turned back to Jack and sighed,"Any sign of Bray or Lex yet Jack?" Gia quickly asked hoping they would have seen one of them.  
  
Jack shook his head and adjusted his headlight on his forehead and shrugged a little,"Sorry Gia. No word from either of them yet. But we'll both keep a look out all right?"  
  
Gia looked down and nodded, turning around and walking right into Ryan. She took a few steps back and frowned, saying a quick apology and then quickly heading out of the way and back towards the café.  
  
"So just a false alarm?" Ryan's calm voice caught Gia a little by surprise. With all the yelling and the stress, she didn't expect him to really say anything.  
  
"Yea," Gia whispered, "False alarm and two Mallrats out playing hookey." She shook her head, "But everything else is fine."  
  
Ryan smirked a little, "Well let's hope so right?"  
  
Gia nodded agreeing and headed back off to the café. "Jae wait up!"  
  
Just as she called out Jaena's name the alarm sounded as loud and obnoxious as ever. Jack who was still standing out of the sewers sighed and hurried down into the darkness to silence the alarm. Gia stopped walking and turned watching Jack go back down. Salene came up next to her and Ryan as the three of them watched entrance and waited for the alarm to be turned off. They stood for a few minutes waiting and nothing was happening.  
  
"JACK!" Jaena yelled, "That's it! Just stop for the day ok?" She ran back up to the three just standing and watching and then started down the stairs, followed by Gia who seemed intent on stopping her.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gia frowned and looked at Jaena who stopped abruptly on her own.  
  
"I don't know," Jaena whispered as the alarm was cut off suddenly and things from the sewer were silent, "Jack?" She asked quietly standing a few feet away from the sewer entrance.  
  
Suddenly yelling and shouts were audible from the sewers as strangers started up the ladder and into the mall. Jaena's eyes went wide as Demon Dogs climbed into the mall. She turned on her heel, grabbed Gia's arm and started running. Gia looked up at Salene and Ryan standing at the top of the steps and yelled to them.  
  
"RUN!" 


	2. Raiding the Mall

Raiding the Mall  
  
Ryan grabbed Salene's arm and started back to their rooms. Fighting was useless at the moment. Their biggest chance to surviving this was hiding out and hoping for the best. The Demon Dogs' chants and jeers were growing louder as more of them crawled their way into the mall. Jaena kept running and took off up the stairs with Gia by her side and a panicked look on both their faces. Gia could hear a Demon Dog guard directly behind her, chasing and forcing her up the stairs faster. She almost wished for Lex to suddenly appear and help save them from this torment. The howls from the intruding tribe were chilling enough, but the idea that a whole pack of Demon Dogs in the mall, outnumbering them almost two to one, sent shivers up Gia's spine.  
  
As Jaena reached the top stair she looked back sharply to see how dangerously close the guard was and missed her footing falling flat on her face. In any other situation she would have laughed at this clumsy mistake, but there was no time to spare and as she struggled to pull herself up, she saw Gia run by with a Demon Dog on her tail. Jaena was quickly pulled to her feet and started moving down the hallway, but not on her own will. Two Demon Dog guards had hers arms and as much as she struggled, she couldn't free herself from their clutches.  
  
Jaena had never seen a Demon Dog up close and personal before but she quickly realized why they were so hated and feared. They were complete brutes, out to destroy anything. As she was pushed forcefully to the café she could hear doors being broken into and glass shattering. One of their scouts had yelled out from the café after finding food and now a few of the scraggly members were congregating there. Jaena stopped walking and pulled away from the Demon Dog guards holding her. She was done cooperating.  
  
"Let go! Ryan! Help!" she screamed and kicked one of the guards in the shin.  
  
His dark eyes clenched shut as he yelled out in pain. A low growl, almost animal sounding rumbled in his throat as his hands gripped her arm tighter, squeezing it. As Jaena went to kick the other guard, she suddenly felt her left arm get pulled back sharply by the first guard she kicked. Suddenly there was a loud popping sound as a wave of excruciating pain shot through her left side. She screamed as she realized what they had just done and tried to hold back the tears as she was threatened with a silver blade of a knife by the second guard. Jaena now refused to stand as they dragged her down the hall. Eventually they got tired and after a few moments of them dragging her by both arms, one of which was now dislocated from its socket, they shoved her into a utility room and jammed the door shut.  
  
Jaena listened to what was going on outside. She couldn't believe this was all happening so quickly. It was as if the end of the world was upon them.again. She grew angry just thinking about their tribe's complete inability to protect itself against raids like this. She also grew furious at Lex, who had befriended her in high school long before the virus. Lex had promised her she would safer at the mall then she was at home, trying to live alone now that the virus had taken her family. Lex had promised he'd watch over her while she was there and Lex lied. Lex was in charge of security and he wasn't doing his job and if Jaena wasn't feeling the numbing throbbing in her left shoulder, she would have considered getting up and doing something about this security breech.  
  
Jaena's thoughts were jolted back into the present when she heard someone scream from down the hall towards Gia's room. Jaena tried to kick the door open and panicked, wondering what those animals were doing to her.  
  
"Gia!" Jaena called back, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear her anyway, "No!" Jaena tried to kick the door again as she held up her left shoulder with her other hand.  
  
She heard more yelling from Gia and then there was a sudden moment of silence. An eerie calm floated over the entire mall as there wasn't a single sound being made anywhere.  
  
"What's going on?" Jaena yelled, demanding to know some answers.  
  
Unfortunately there was no one there to answer her question. She just looked around the small room she was trapped in and cried softly, "Please.someone. Lex, Bray, where are you?"  
  
Gia was having just as much luck at Jaena was at that exact moment. Although hiding out in her room might have worked to avoid Lex on certain occasions, it certainly didn't discourage a hungry pack of Demon Dogs. After a few horrifying moments of hiding in her room, the door was quickly broken down, allowing the Demon Dogs to look in on Gia as if she were an animal in a cage. Quickly going to work, a group of three bound and gag her and dragged her down the hall and stairs, leaving her sit by the sewer exit while they foraged for what they were looking for.  
  
Jaena didn't hear any yells from Ryan or Salene so she hoped they had gotten out ok. As more feet traveled the halls unceasingly she started to wonder what they were even looking for. And then she thought of Jack and Dal and grew panicked. She hadn't even seen them come up the sewers before the Demon Dogs attacked.  
  
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"Look everywhere! We only have a few more minutes!" The Demon Dog leader called out through the hall, "It has got to be here somewhere damnit! Look, all of you! Everyone look you pathetic wastes of space!" He started ordering the others around, "Let's go. This isn't a field trip. Stop playing with the rats and get back to work." He snapped looking through some of the mallrats rooms, overturning beds and moving dressers.  
  
The tall Demon Dog leader with silver on his face, paced the hallways as his tribe members came up to him empty handed, reporting they had found nothing. Suddenly the utility closet door was thrown open and Jaena toppled out onto the floor. She looked around a bit shocked after finally slamming her good shoulder into the door to open it. Without warning the cold blade of a knife was pressed up against her neck and she was pulled up to face the Demon Dog in charge. She quickly realized her timing couldn't have been worse.  
  
Behind the Demon Dog leader stood Jack and Dal, looking pretty beat up. They were barely standing with the help of the two Demon Dog guards holding them. The side of Jack's mouth was bleeding and one of his eyes was closed shut. Dal on the other hand wasn't even looking up. His head was down and he slowly swayed from one foot to the other in an attempt to keep from falling over. Jaena looked at Jack and Dal trying to get their attention to make sure they were all right but neither one was very interested in anything but the floor at the moment.  
  
"WHERE IS IT?" The Demon Dog brought Jaena's attention back on him.  
  
"What?" Jaena whispered and looked around for Gia, "Where's Gia?"  
  
"Tell me where it is Mallrat. Tell me where the antidote is." His voice cut through the air like the knife at her throat, sharp and cold.  
  
Jaena's eyes went wide when she realized what this entire raid was all about. If she just gave them the antidote, they'd go away. She looked behind the Demon Dog to Jack and wished he'd give her an answer of what to do. Jack was now looking up at Jaena and gave her a warning look, shaking his head. At the mention of the antidote, Dal looked up slowly as well, revealing a cut on his head that was bleeding into his eye. He shook his head as well which earned both boys a hit to the head by their respective Demon Dog guards. Jaena winced and looked away, but felt the knife back at her throat and just closed her eyes, waiting for them to end it.  
  
"I don't know where it is. I don't keep watch over it.it's not my responsibility," Jaena stated an obvious lie.  
  
Everyone in the city knew that her and Bray were working on it and getting it distributed. She looked away from the Demon Dog and frowned, hoping Salene and Ryan were all right. The Demon Dog stepped closer to her and slapped her, his eyes hard as stone. He took the knife away from her and shook his head.  
  
"You will give us the antidote or your tribe will die." He quickly threatened.  
  
Jaena spat at him and shook her head, "You won't get the antidote from us if you threaten our lives. You kill us and secret of the antidote dies with us. You want it? You can make a bargain with us like everyone else, just like the Locos are doing. Don't you know? The Locos are on our side. We're giving them the antidote and they're calling a truce."  
  
The Demon Dog leader kicked Jaena in the stomach and shook his head after he wiped his face, "They are on your side?" He started laughing, "We'll leave you believe what you wish. Where is that leader of your tribe today anyway? Shouldn't he be here? Or does he have more pressing matters to attend to?" The Demon Dog looked at his tribe and gave them an appreciative nod, "Let's go. Take the one downstairs and we'll leave the rest to sit and rot and think about what this antidote secret means to them."  
  
The two guards holding Dal and Jack dropped them to their knees and the wolfish tribe checked out of the mall almost as quickly and skillfully as they had entered, taking their hostage with them. 


End file.
